Some money returned to Foneclub scam victims

Liz Mineo

Wednesday

Apr 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 23, 2008 at 10:22 PM

Nearly two years after federal authorities investigated a company that bilked more than $3 million from hundreds of local Brazilians through a pyramid scheme, victims may start receiving some of their money back.

Nearly two years after federal authorities investigated a company that bilked more than $3 million from hundreds of local Brazilians through a pyramid scheme, victims may start receiving some of their money back.

Letters to about 1,300 investors of Universo Foneclub Corp. went out this week with information about their possible returns, said attorney John Aquino, who has been appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to distribute the company's frozen assets among investors.

SEC officials froze approximately $1.8 million in assets in June 2006, when it filed a complaint alleging that Foneclub illegally promoted a pyramid scheme that relied upon the recruitment of new members for its income. The company raised $3.2 million in less than two months, and by the time the SEC shut down the operation, it had already paid out nearly $1.4 million to investors.

Last year, a U.S. District Court judge found Sanderley De Vasconcelos of Nashua, N.H., who ran the company, and Victor Sales of Framingham, liable for running a fraudulent scheme targeting Brazilians. Sales, a preacher, was found to have played a key role in luring Brazilians to invest in the pyramid scheme by telling them, "God did not want the Brazilians to spend all of their lives working as housecleaners, dishwashers and landscapers.''

The long-awaited distribution of the money is in its early stages, said Aquino. Investors are encouraged to respond when they receive letters as quickly as possible to help hasten the return of their money.

To help move things faster, Aquino asked investors to send updated personal information to his office fax number (617) 273-3699, including full name, old and new address and a copy of a photo ID.